


A Withered Yet Blooming Rose

by Airi (MultisFabulis)



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Introspection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-23
Updated: 2019-01-23
Packaged: 2019-10-14 19:47:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17514839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MultisFabulis/pseuds/Airi
Summary: All roses wilt someday. This rose, though, blossoms in the face of hardship, even in the coldest of winters.





	A Withered Yet Blooming Rose

     Ruby’s Aura flickered, its red sheen encasing her body. With how long she had been using her Semblance for, it wasn’t surprising. Still, she couldn’t afford to slow down, not until she was far, far away from Argus. She wanted to go back home to Patch, be with her father and Zwei, to get away from all the fighting. Seeing as how she was on another continent, however, she’d settle for anywhere but Argus.

     She was just…done. Done with the constant setbacks, the infighting, not to mention the fact that she was thrown into an unwinnable war. She wanted to run away from it all because she reached her limit. This became too much for her to handle, which she absolutely hated to admit. 

     In her emotional state, she raced up one of the cliffs that surrounded Argus. Her last bit of Aura managed to push her through the snowy forest before depleting completely. She fell to her knees, her legs suddenly heavy and her throat and lungs burning. Without her Aura there to protect her, she was freezing as well. If Grimm were nearby, she’d be in trouble since she didn’t bring Crescent Rose with her. 

     She thought she could be the hero everyone wanted her to be. They expected her to be the girl with silver eyes that could take Salem down with ease. Now, she wasn’t sure if that was possible, even with her extraordinary power. 

     After all of Jinn’s revelations, Ruby’s hope wavered. Course, she never let it show, much less said anything about it. Hope was probably the only thing they had left on this journey so it was critical they didn’t lose it. She had to have been the stupidest person in all of Remnant to believe that. How stupid was she for thinking everything would be okay, so long as they had hope and each other? 

     What kind of terrible leader was she? A good leader wouldn’t let everyone in her group fight amongst themselves. A good leader wouldn’t let her team split up to different parts of the world, circumstances be damned. She knew she couldn’t measure up to the leader she had envisioned. 

     Tears dripped onto the snow, darkening it. She never asked to be part of a thousands years war between Ozpin and Salem. She never asked to see her friends die from deaths that were preventable. All she wanted was to be the kind of Huntress Yang had read stories to her about when she was a young child. If she couldn’t even protect the ones dear to her, what hope did she have of becoming a Huntress? 

     A chilling wind blew red rose petals ahead of her. She thought it strange, since her petals would’ve disappeared shortly after her Aura did. More petals seemed to beckon her to come and she decided to follow them. Shivering from the cold, she weakly stood up and walked in the direction the petals went. 

     They led her to the bluff that overlooked the ocean. The sun was beginning to set over the horizon, dying the sky varying shades of violet. Much of the snow melted long before she got there, leaving behind dark, wet grass. With the exception of a gravestone, it felt as if she were visiting her mother again. If only she was; at least she’d be in familiar territory. 

     Clasping her hands over her chest, hoping she’d receive an answer, she said, “Mom, what do I do? I thought that, if we stopped Salem, humanity would be saved and life could return to normal. Now… I don’t know if we even have a chance. 

     “Ozpin’s disappeared, everyone keeps fighting, Uncle Qrow won’t stop drinking, and… I don’t know if I can keep going on like this. It feels like everything’s stacked against us and I can’t tell everyone to keep looking forward when I don’t even know if I can believe in that anymore. 

     “I wish… I wish Penny and Pyrrha were here.” Upon mentioning their names, tears pricked at the corners of her eyes as her hands squeezed each other harder. “I-I know they can’t be anymore but I wish they were because… because at least I know their deaths wouldn’t have been for nothing! Their sacrifices in this stupid war wouldn’t have been in vain! 

     “I wish I was more like you, Mom. Dad, Uncle Qrow, even Yang won’t tell me anything about you but I just know you would’ve solved this long before now! Tell me what I should do. What should I do?!” 

     Of course, that elicited no response. Fresh tears slid down her cheeks as her childish hopes for a sign were dashed. She thought that maybe, just maybe, something would’ve happened and she’d have a way out of her maze of doubts. God, when would she ever grow up and just face reality? 

     Warmth suddenly enveloped her body. There’s no way her Aura could’ve regenerated that quickly, especially in this kind of weather. It almost felt like a hug, something she so desperately wanted at this point. 

     A red maple leaf fluttered by out of the corner of her eye. Wondering where it came from in the middle of winter, she spied something interesting. Over on the other cliff was a three-tiered tower, settled right on the edge. Not just any tower, though; a CCT support relay tower, to be exact. 

     At that moment, a firefly flew over and nuzzled her tear-streaked cheek. She didn’t know what was weirder, a maple leaf or firefly appearing in the dead of winter. Either way, they shouldn’t be able to exist in this cold weather. Maybe they were signs from whoever dictates the powers that be, or maybe they were… 

     A plan began formulating in her head. If she and everyone else were to get to Atlas, she needed to come up with something and fast. It may be shoddily put-together and may not even work but something was better than nothing. She’d need to discuss this with Jaune before going ahead with it. 

     Drying her tears, burgeoning hope filled her heart. Yes, the last few weeks had been rough on her, as well as everyone else. Yes, the knowledge that Salem can’t be destroyed scared her to no end. However, that didn’t mean they had to roll over and accept the fate of death. If she had to die, she’d want it to be from trying to stop Salem because at least it meant she did _something_ rather than nothing. 

     She needed to remember she wasn’t alone. Her team and allies were with her, ready to help her with whatever they had. The good people that died along their journey were watching over them, cheering for their success. Once this war was finally over, she’ll become the Huntress she’s always dreamed of. 

     Feeling revitalized, she activated her Semblance. Some of her Aura came back and she hoped it’d be enough to take her down the cliff. As she ran, she only had one thought on her mind. A thought that would motivate her, keep her hope and determination up, a reminder to share with everyone. 

     No matter what happens, keep moving forward. If you ever feel alone, don’t forget that there are people there to remind you you’re not. Most of all, never lose your hope, even in the face of adversity.

**Author's Note:**

> I feel as if I'm gonna get comments about Ruby being OOC but my answer to that is, at the risk of sounding pretentious, that's the point of this fic.
> 
> This is me expanding upon and giving depth to my headcanon that Ruby continues to be the same person she is post Vol.3 because she doesn't want anyone worrying over her and not wanting everyone to freak out over their situation until she eventually breaks down.
> 
> I also want to explain that some aspects in here, such as Aura, Semblances, Argus, etc., may be wrong but I tried my best to make sure they were incorporated correctly.


End file.
